Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-07-09

with fear By the fury Of the storm and the
dying struggles Of the of wheeler, plunged
and tore at the traces till they actually rent
themselves loose and vanished between the
darkness overhead and the boiling water be
Meath Away fioated the cart, now touching
the bottom and now riding on the water like
boat, oscillating this way and that, and
slowly turning round and round With 1t
foated the dead horse, dragging down the
other wheeler beneath the water. It was aw
full to see his struggles in the glare Of the
lightning, but at last be sank and choked.
And meanwhile, sounding sharp and clear
across the din and hubbub of the storm, came
the cracking of the three rifles whenever the
flashes showed the whereabouts of the cart to
the murderers on the bank Mouti was lying
still In the bottom on the bed plank, a bullet
between his broad shoulders and another in
his skull; but John felt that his life was yet
whole In him, though something had Kissed
past his face and stung it. Instinchvely he
reached across the cart and drew jess on to
his knee, and covered over her, thinking
dinly that perhaps his body would protect
her from the bullets.
Ripi ripi through the wood and canvas;
phuti pbuti through the DIR; but some mer-
oiful power protected them, and though one
cut Johns coat and two passed through the
skirt of Jess dress, not bullet struck them
And very soon the shooting began to grow
wild, and then that dense vail of rain came
down and wrapped them so close that even the
lightning could not show their whereabouts
TO the aSsassins on the hank.
"Stop shooting said Frank Muller; "the
cart has sunk and there is an end Of them.
No human being can have lived through that
fire and the Naal in flood."
The two Beers ceased firing, and the Uni
corn shook his head softly and remarked to
his companion that the damned English PEG
pie in the water could not be much wetter
than they were on the bank. Ii was a curl
| Gus thing to say at such moment, but prob
ably the spirit that animated the remark was
not so much callousIiess as that which ami
mated Cromwell, who tipped the ink in his
neighbours face when he signed the death
warrant of his king.
Muller was also thinking Of the warrant
which he had forged. He must get it back
somehow, even if
"Let us take shelter under the bank there
There is a fiat place, about fifty yards up,
where the bank lies over This rain is
drowning US We can't upsaddle till it
clears. must have nip of brandy, too.
Almighty | can see that girls face now
| the lightning shone on it just as / shot. Well,
she viii be in heaven now, poor thing, if
| English people ever go to heaven"
1t was the Unicorn who spoke, and the
Nilderbeeste made no reply, but advanced
| with him to where the horses stood They
| took the patient brutes that were waiting for
| their masters, their heads well down and the
water streaming from them. and led them
| along with them. Frank Muller stood by his
OWL horse thinking, and watched them
vanish into the gloom. How was he to get
| that warrant back without dyeing his hands
| even redder than they were'
As he thought, an answer came. For at
that moment, accompanied by fearful
| thunderclap, there shot from the storm over
| head, which had now nearly passed away,
| one of those awful flashes that sometimes end
| an African tempest 1t Lit no the whole
scene round as light as day, and right in the
| white heart of it Muller saw his two com
| panions in crime and their horses as the great
| king saw the men in the furnace. They were
| about forty PAGES from him. ON the crest OF
tue udilh, ne StN tueiu. one moment erect
the neKt-men and horses falling this way
| and that, prone to the earth. And then il
was all dark again. He staggered with the
| shock and when it had passed rushed to tne
| spot, calling the men by name; but no an
swer came, except the echo of his voice H.
was there now, and the moonlight began te
| struggle family through the rain Its palf
| beams lit upon two outstretched forrns-ont
| lying its back, its distorted features gazing
up to heaven, the other on its face By them
| the legs of the nearest sticking straight int
the air. lay the two horses They had gone
to their account The lightning had killed
them, as it kills many an innocent man il
| Africa.
Frank Muller looked and then, forgetting
about the warrant and everything else IN the
horror of what he took to be visible judg
ment, rushed to his horse and galloped wildly
away, pursued by all the terrors of bell
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